Spanish & Illinois

by Ann Abbott The day before Thanksgiving break, I wanted to show a documentary in my Spanish in the Community course. It's relaxing to sit back and watch a film, and it also complements the perspective that my students have formed throughout the semester in our local community.  I chose "America First: El legado de una redada migratoria" by Univision because it covered a topic we hadn't really hit on yet --raids-- and because it extends students' local viewpoint to a regional, Midwestern perspective.  What I didn't expect was the artistry of the film. The images, the contrasts, the camera work, I found myself drawn to the aesthetics of the film as well as the stories it told.  You can see the documentary below (it is 42 minutes long, perfect for a 50-minute university class), and you can read the nice reflective essay that a student wrote about it.  America First: El legado de una redada migratoria by Allison Flores El document...

by Ann Abbott In one of the final lessons (22) in my texbook Comunidades , I take students through a series of classroom activities to help them think about their academic and volunteer experiences in the Spansih in the Community course as actual pre-professional experience. It's important for them to articulate what they did with their community partner in the form of resume items, job interview answers or cover letter sentence.  This isn't easy! They are used to compartmentalizing: school versus work. They are used to shaping their academic learning into academic essays and their job experiences into job-search materials. So I was delighted when one of my students, Megan, decided to write her final reflection about the career connections with her Spanish community service learning work for a local immigrant helpline. She gave me her permission to share this excerpt below, and I will highlight the most relevant points. However, the whole piece is an excellent examp...

Note from Ann Abbott: I love it when students come to my Spanish community service learning courses with personal experiences and expertise that is directly applicable to what we study and do in the course. I even encourage students to use the volunteer work that they are currently doing --if it puts them into contact with our local Latino community-- instead of taking on something new just for our course. Below, you can read about how one student is already very involved in projects that help our local Latino community and more. ¡Hola! Mi nombre es Grace O'Malley. Estoy en mi tercer año en la Universidad de Illinois estudiando negocios y con un minor en español. Mientras estoy en la Universidad de Illinois, quiero aprender cómo hacer un impacto en la comunidad a través de los muchos RSO diferentes en el campus al mismo tiempo que desarrollo mis conocimientos y habilidades de negocios. Esto es cuando encontré "Illinois Enactus". Illinois Enactus Illinois En...

  by Paige Valente Durante el semestre pasado no solo he adquirido conocimiento, sino también amistades.  Este jueves fue el último día de tutoría SOAR del semestre. Si bien tengo muchas emociones encontradas sobre el final del semestre, sé que me he convertido en un mejor comunicador, hablante de español, maestra y amiga de este programa.  Reflexionando sobre este semestre, estos estudiantes han crecido en sus habilidades de lectura y confianza. Fue muy especial para mí poder ver cómo se desarrollaban las habilidades de lectura de los estudiantes a lo largo de nuestro tiempo juntos.  El último día del programa, los estudiantes hicieron cartas de gracias para todos sus tutores. Después de esta amable y pequeña manualidad, tuvimos el resto del tiempo para jugar, comer galletas, y socializar con los niños. Fue un gran momento para aprender aún más sobre sus familias, sus historias y las esperanzas que tienen para el futuro.  In general, SOAR me ha ense...